Legal & General Investment Management Acquires ETF Platform Canvas

LGIM, the UK’s largest asset manager with over $1.2trn of AUM, has
acquired Canvas, the UCITS ETF platform owned by ETF Securities

Acquisition includes $2.7bn AUM and 17 products across equity, fixed
income and commodities

The UK and Ireland based platform is listed on multiple stock
exchanges and licensed for distribution in 14 countries

November 15, 2017 02:14 AM Eastern Standard Time

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Legal & General Investment (Holdings) Limited (LGIM) has acquired
Canvas, the European exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform owned by ETF
Securities. The transaction includes the platform and embedded
infrastructure for ETFs, as well as $2.7bn of existing assets across 17
products and partnerships.

Canvas is a platform that has built a diverse range of ETFs working with
partners and directly in a UCITS compliant ETF format. It manages
investments for a number of ETFs on the platform, while also allowing
partners to launch and manage their own ETFs. The platform will remain
open architecture for differentiated products and for the large majority
of ETFs to be managed and distributed by LGIM.

The acquisition provides LGIM’s clients with access to one of the
fastest growing segments in asset management, broadening LGIM’s
geographical reach and product range. It will also bolster LGIM’s
capabilities and expertise, enabling it to provide more solutions to
help clients achieve their investment objectives.

Mark Zinkula, LGIM CEO, said: “As a leader in product innovation,
we are constantly exploring ways to deliver new investment solutions for
our clients. The ETF market is one of the fastest growing segments in
asset management. A number of long-term macro trends, including the
increasing use of passive vehicles and the drive to digitalisation, will
lead to a growing demand for ETF products. We are well positioned to
leverage the scale of our $431bn index business1 to develop
ETF solutions that complement our existing range of index funds.”

“This is a natural step in our strategy to develop products for a wider
audience. The acquisition of Canvas enables us to cater to a growing
base of clients across Europe and further grow our market share in both
retail and institutional markets. LGIM shares a strong cultural
alignment with Canvas and we look forward to working with the team going
forward.”

A team of Canvas employees with specialist ETF skills will join LGIM as
part of the transaction, with both groups working closely together to
ensure the successful integration of the business.

As at the end of October 2017, the global ETF and exchange traded
product (ETP) market size reached a new record of $4.6trn AUM, with year
to date flows of $538bn eclipsing 2016’s full year flow record of
$391bn. The US remains the largest region by assets with $3.3trn AUM;
however, Europe is growing at a faster pace. Assets invested in
ETFs/ETPs listed in Europe reached a new record of $0.8trn, increasing
33.7% in the first 10 months of 2017. 2017 is on track for a record year
in net inflows in Europe, with October 2017 marking 37 consecutive
months of net inflows and a record level of $95bn in the year to date,
up 102% on October 2016.2

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

1 Source: LGIM internal data as at 30 June 2017

Notes to editors

Legal & General Investment Management

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is one of the UK’s largest
asset managers and a major global investor, with total assets under
management of £951.1 billion. We work with a wide range of global
clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund
distributors and retail investors.

Throughout the past 40 years we have built our business through
understanding what matters most to our clients and transforming this
insight into valuable, accessible investment products and solutions. We
provide investment expertise across the full spectrum of asset classes
including fixed income, equities, commercial property and cash. Our
capabilities range from index-tracking and active strategies to
liquidity management and liability-based risk management solutions.

Legal & General Group

Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading
financial services groups and a major global investor, with a number of
growing businesses in the US and in other countries. At 30th June 2017,
we had over £951 billion in total assets under management. Over fifteen
million people worldwide rely on us to help them save for the future and
to protect their families and their homes.

We work with companies and pension trustees to help people build
security in retirement, being the UK’s largest investment manager for UK
corporate pension schemes, a major provider of auto-enrolled pensions
and a market leader in pensions de-risking. We have also made a
commitment to invest around £15 billion in direct investments, with £12
billion already invested in areas such as homes, urban regeneration,
clean energy and small business finance, driving economic growth and
making a positive difference to the UK’s built environment.

ETF Securities Group

The ETF Securities Group is one of the world’s leading innovators of
Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and provides specialist investment
solutions to investors around the world, enabling them to intelligently
build and diversify their portfolios.

Canvas

The European ETF platform of the ETF Securities Group, Canvas is a
leading, scalable UCITS ETF platform which has the flexibility to build
on in-house capabilities as well as work with other partners to launch
new and innovative ETFs. The Canvas product range is registered for
distribution in 14 countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
The Netherlands, and the UK.

ETFGI

ETFGI is a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends
in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, based in London, England. Deborah Fuhr,
Managing Partner, co-founder, ETFGI website www.etfgi.com.